Channel 8 is a ruckus! Earth's hero has hijacked a UAC vessel and blasted off toward a forbidden sector of space to save his old military instructor/Indigo coop buddy from the hellspawn remnant! The demons have chosen a strange place to grow their numbers...a deserted quadrant filled with small planetoids floating in a hallucinogenic gas known asNebula 95.

Was that cheesy enough for you? Here is the first of a series of vanilla maps I started a while ago, as a break from making giant maps. I originally wanted to release all of the maps together as an episode, but realized it would be more fun and encouraging to myself if I released the maps individually on a weekly basis. Some of these will probably be familiar, as a few of the maps have deathmatch versions floating around but it will be a mix of revised and new content. I plan on using the feedback from these threads to improve the maps as I go along. Once I consider a map finished, I release it to /idgames.

I am also compiling the maps together as I update, but I am keeping this version thread-only until I feel I am done with the series. If you don't feel like downloading the maps individually, this version has all the maps up to whatever is the latest one I released. Though the individual maps are vanilla-compatible, I recommend playing the compiled version with either an eternity or zdoom-derived port if you want to see the correct skies rendered:COMPILED DOWNLOAD

And so our hero's quest for his partner begins. First planetoid to catch his glimpse is a blue marble with what appears to be a solitary island housing a shrine. He's not sure what the local beliefs are, but when he sees that the deities have horns, he knows what to expect. Better make this quick!

This one is based on my layout of map 18 from Odamex Nitro Deathmatch
------------------Updated to v3: March 20, 2014

Yikes! Our hero could have sworn that pile of mud blinked at him, but he couldn't be sure. Is it alive? Probably, not that it matters much. It's no secret that humans aren't alone in the universe these days. Off the top of his head, Earth's hero could list a few alien races like the Klaves, the Freds, the Lizards, the... Our hero pondered the next one as he noticed some unwelcome guests arriving. Ah, that's right! The hellspawn.

This one is based on my layout of map 28 from 32in24-12: IRON MAPPER
------------------Updated to v4: March 20, 2014

What a ghastly structure. A crude representation of a smiling face painted in fresh human blood'n'guts adorned the strange totem pole before our hero. Its expression did not match his own, as he leaned against cover from the growling monsters that nearly surrounded him on all sides. Traveling to the single seemingly hand-crafted structure on this planetoid has led Earth's hero straight into an ambush, something that has recently become a bad habit of his. The hero's ship isn't for miles, and the only way out of plain sight around here seems to be an underground tunnel that is currently locked off. Drowning out the creature's snarls with a funk tape in his music drive, our hero slammed a shell into his shotgun. It may be suicidal to go down there, but it's the best bet he's got.

Name: "Human Earrings"
Music: "Between The Sheets" by the Isley Brothers sequenced by unknown (in cases like these, please let me know if you can divine the sequencer so I can give them their due)

Unlike the ones posted so far, this isn't based on anything I previously made. This is its first public release. Though the layout that resulted seems like it may have been better suited for deathmatch, here it is with single player make-up.

------------------Updated to v2: March 20, 2014Uh oh! It seems Our Hero has a very important decision to make, and he can't do it alone! He needs the help of YOU, the PLAYER! A bead of sweat rolled down Earth's Hero's forehead as his wide eyes quickly shifted between the two cassette tapes he held in each hand. He could either continue listening to cassette tape B, a tape full of his favorite funk and pop-synth grooves, or add some new spice to life with cassette tape A, a tape with a single song by mysterious (but strangely familiar-sounding) composer 'Forty-Two'. You see, music is very important to Our Hero, and in Nebula 95 the groove changes the way he experiences demon-slaying. Time's a tickin'. What's it gonna be?

Name: Drown Stone Cassette B
Music: "West End Girls" by the Pet Shop Boys sequenced by unknown (in cases like these, please let me know if you can divine the sequencer so I can give them their due)

Besides engine compatibility, the two versions of the map look and play a bit differently. Drown Stone Casette A is based on my submission for Snakes' Secret Santa project, in which I was tasked at imitating Forty-Two/stewboy's style. I originally planned on using this map as part of the Nebula 95 series, but I realized toward the end of making it that it didn't quite fit for a few reasons: it was boom-compatible, and it used new non-sky textures in the map, which sort of went against the style I had in mind for this series. I liked it too much the way it was though, so I released this version to the archive as Dstone.wad. The second version's resources were changed and it was optimized to be vanilla-compatible, which meant making changes to the architecture and gameplay of the map. I think this version is more in line with the cheesy nineties nature of the maps before it.

It kind of reminds me of something by Khorus, somehow....probably has something to do with the broadstroke texturing and the way the monsters are placed directly on the board (and how it's really imp-heavy, I guess) rather than being squirreled away in closets or teleporter bays. I guess it's also vaguely Flynn-esque in some ways...but you can still see your own style in it, though. The big, chunky polygonal shrine with multiple levels you can traverse around its entire perimeter is very 'you.'

The height variation and lack of blocking lines make it kind of fun to run around in, but I felt it was a bit sparsely-populated given the amount of space you have. Still, I guess packing it with more monsters might change the feel of it to the point where it wouldn't really have the lighthearted impression it seemed like you were going for. I dimwittedly failed to notice picking up the rocket launcher at first when I played (too busy knight-boxing, I guess), and so shotgunned the first pair of pillarviles, which was a bit of a to-do. I guess that's my main suggestion: when the player hits the switches that lower each pair of viles, I think it might be fun to have one of them teleport either to the top of that outer wall or to the middle structure after his pillar reaches the ground--sort of help to prevent the player from just finding one safe position and plinking them to death from there, you know (and can still be defused by repeat or lucky players by killing him before his pillar is down).

I do like the simplistic looks, but I'm pretty soft on marble textures, so there you go. Nice dim nightlife lighting. The sky looks pretty washed-out, though. And the sounds....I'm okay with the altered weapons sounds (sends me back down 1990s memory lane), but the punching sound and the item pickup sound are terrible, dude. The music is pretty hokey, too, but again, I sort of get that this is not a map(set) that aims to take itself too seriously.

Looking forward to that one you posted screens of a long time ago that had the big arch made out of grey Wolfenbricks, heh.

It was very open and sparsely populated, the monsters didn't pose any threat and were tedious to take out, especially these imps that always survived one shotgun shot and pissed me off. Then some arch-viles appeared and I couldn't hide from them. Oh, and the map was totally symmetrical and I've heard that symmetry sucks. Good music.

I'm playing in ChocolateDoom and got this error before I could finish the map "R_DrawPlanes: visplane overflow (129)"

It's a fun map, I don't like the sounds but that's more personal taste (I just really like Doom's sounds). I think the music fits the silly TV-Show kind of vibe I got from the little story intro in the OP behehe.

Played it, had some fun with it. Kept messing around with the archviles so I never actually got to the exit, but it went well. I agree the sounds were annoying and didn't really add anything to an otherwise vanilla map, but that might change for later maps.

MegaTurtleRex said:I'm playing in ChocolateDoom and got this error before I could finish the map "R_DrawPlanes: visplane overflow (129)"

It's a fun map, I don't like the sounds but that's more personal taste (I just really like Doom's sounds). I think the music fits the silly TV-Show kind of vibe I got from the little story intro in the OP behehe.

I also got a VPO when jumping off the outer wall onto a group of white, flashing teleporters. Otherwise it was fun. The first time though I got raked pretty bad by some imps while on the tallest ledge, and ended up running around the outer courtyard with 4% health dodging mancubus shots (and wondering where all the medikits are). The second time, I wised up and jumped directly across to the outer wall, via the tall pillars. Didn't kill everything, ran for the exit (or what seemed to be) like a scared little girl with revenant missiles in tow. :-)

Hey, I like the new sounds! Where are those from? Maybe you should put them into a separate file though, so people can choose to load them (or not). And keep the cheesy story, it's perfect!

Thanks for playing =). I'll get to fixing stuff up. Yeah, these maps are going to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. They are mostly inspired by the typical wad you would download circa 95-98 or so, where new sounds and graphics weren't always there because they fit, but because the author figured out how to put them in.

First thing's first, I'll put the sounds in a separate file from now on. @hex11 most of the sounds come from mydoom2, but they are by no means unique to that wad =P. I remember hearing these sounds in many old maps.

The arch-viles only appear on UV, otherwise they are revenants, as MegaTurtleRex got to discover. I am considering having only one or the other on all difficulties, but I am not sure yet. I like Demon of the Well's idea for the vile fight though, so I may do that.

Also I see what you guys mean about the amount of space compared to the opposition. I was sort of afraid and anticipating that reaction, but wasn't sure how to change the map without leaving it as the easiest one in the set =P.

lupinx-Kassman said:They are mostly inspired by the typical wad you would download circa 95-98 or so, where new sounds and graphics weren't always there because they fit, but because the author figured out how to put them in.

Yeah it's a cool idea, you should throw some hot purple and cyan into it, rocking space Nebula 95 behehe

Well I failed at Monday updates almost immediately didn't I? At least I can still have a go at posting these weekly I suppose =P. Also, I decided to contain my nonsense in one thread instead of spreading it throughout the forum like a thin paste. I will try to post revised versions of these maps here as well, though I haven't had time to finish revising the first map yet (fixing VPOs is a pain).

On map02 the linedefs affecting the staircase shown on the screenshot make a veeeery loud sound if you cross them after the floors stop moving. Maybe merge some of the floors with faraway dummy sectors to hide the sounds?

Played "Mudman Wonderland", a simple little romp. Apart from everything being one default light level I don't have any real complaints. The auto-alignment on the beige brickwork is a bit naff, but it doesn't really matter, and kind of fits with the stylized retro PWAD air anyway. I liked the giant mudman who peeks up from beyond the rim of the arach/crusher room, although I might not have realized that that's what it was supposed to be if I hadn't read your flavor text. Thanks for making the sound pack an optional addon--I don't mind the weapon sounds, but the item pickup sound started driving me batshit even over the short period of time I was exposed to it playing Neb01.

For the gameplay, well, it's simple stuff, but punching things is always fun, and I like that it manages to give each of the chaingun, SSG, and rocket launcher some spotlight time over its short duration. If I were going to change anything, I might make that Baron an arch-vile instead (it should still be possible to break line-of-sight with him in that little area in most situations), but it's no biggie. On replaying the map I see that it's possible to hit the yellow switch from the mud pit below (assuming you have the yellow key), which breaks kayfabe a little, but otherwise doesn't hurt anything and doesn't present any relevant exploits that I can see, so again it's mostly irrelevant.

Just for fun, here's another demo, if you like. It was recorded in PrBoom+ complevel 2. I played pretty slowly/casually (though I appear evidently paranoid about the arachs possibly being able to hit me from far away, even though they never do), but since it's such a little map it's still only 3 minutes long or so.

Thanks for playing guys, and very thanks for the fdas! I took Memfis's suggestion and made dummy sectors for the stairs. I'll consider DOW's arch-vile suggestion, but I kinda like it as a baron =P. I'll try to vary up the lighting a little more.

Seems week 3 has already rolled around. I'll get out the third map shortly.

Okay, so its pretty obvious by now that the plan to make these weekly has backfired horribly. I thought it would help me finish these ideas if I had some sort of deadline every week, but it instead probably made me look like an even bigger douchebag than usual. In any case, here is map 3! Please let me know what you think, and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated too. =)

Also, sorry for the bump that also manages to be a double post, but I needed some way to revive this zombie. =/

That was intense. Really intense. Well, not really intense. But pretty intense.

In all seriousness, it's quite a frantic map: it took a few deaths before I found my groove and managed to beat it. The mechanics are pretty neat and while it's difficult, it isn't too much so. The whole thing felt pretty empty near the end though: maybe you could have monsters teleport in every time you open one of the key doors at the end. Good stuff. :)

I've just played all 3 (I was on a hiatus when this thread first appeared, so it's handy you bumped it!) and here's my thoughts:

Nebula Shrine
I like the design of the map and the Tyson start. However, the Arch Viles really suck!

MudMan Wonderland
A better map, with a good secret and a bit more variety in the encounters. I'd prefer it if that last Baron did not end up as Arch Vile, personally, as the lack of space and low guarantee of rockets may make it just as unfair as the Nebula Shrine ones.

Human Earrings
You've got two secret sectors in the soulsphere secret, where only one is needed (the little triangle the soulsphere is on should be made "normal"). Otherwise a solid map. Good use of early opposition to flush the player out and a strong use of a Cyberdemon. I'm not sure the Arachnotron in the soulsphere secret is necessary, as it all it did for me was infight with the Mancubus outside its window.

All in all, good mapping. The sounds are either too loud or rather annoying, to be honest, bar the new DSPLASMA, as in that case the original sound is loud/annoying and benefits from being replaced pretty much invariably. I like the inappropriate music, tongue-in-cheek story and the little touches like the MudMan and totem pole give the maps some real personality.

I find the secrets, but this is ultimately my undoing. If there's any way out of the soulsphere secret once the wall raises behind you, I couldn't figure out what it was. After flailing about for a minute or two in a most undignified fashion like a wasp in a jar, I eventually suicide. I probably would have made it otherwise, as the (wounded) cyberdemon was the only one left.

I like how the different terraces and platforms interconnect neatly by various little stairsteps and ledgewalks and the like, although things feel pretty clamped and clunky around the weird yellow skull lift. Apart from the broken (unless it's time for me to swallow my foot, that is) soulsphere secret, something else I notice is that a couple of the infinitely-tall hanging decorative bodies in/around the largest yard are essentially just landmines waiting to be stepped on--while I'm mixing it up with the cyber a bit in the FDA, I bump up 'against' the one hanging from the large beam high above for a second or two, and it nearly gets me killed, and also spooks me to the point where I decide to leave and fight from a different angle for a bit. I reckon the one that's smack in the middle of the steps up to the placed chaingun/ammo box is highly obtrusive, as well. Other than that, while it's not necessarily a problem per se, I'll bet you $40 and a Choco Taco that the soulsphere can be 'grabbed' by hurling oneself at it hard enough from one of the ledges in the mancubus area.

Even with the issues, I still enjoyed the few minutes I spent on it, mainly for the cyberdemon. He's well-used here, a legitimate pressuring force who dominates the area until you gather together enough ammo to nut up and fight him. You can surely pick him to death from the ledges I suppose (in fact, I take a couple of potshots at him from up there myself), but eh, not everything needs to force the player into a chivalrous fight.

Thanks Obsidian, Phobus, and DotW for the feedback and FDA! My next update will include fixes to this map and MudMan Wonderland (as well as another map). Things I'll make sure to change include: unmarking the soulsphere's stand as secret, moving the stand further inward, removing the arachnotron from the secret, and uhh...making the secret escapable in the first place (oops, there will be no foot swallowing today =/). I'll also move the rocket launcher off the ledge Obsidian pointed out, and maybe put a few rockets there instead. As for the two hanging bodies I didn't realize were blocking in the main courtyard, there are now a couple of things underneath them to signify that the player must go around them (things which projectiles can still pass through). I may add monsters that arrive each time you grab a key, but the amount of opposition the player faces is already kind of heavy, so I am not sure.

Finally I found some time to update "MudMan Wonderland" and "Human Earrings", and now there is another map in the list as well: the nebula 95ized version of my Secret Santa map "Drown Stone". The changes to neb03 are all of those I mentioned in the post directly above this one, and the change to neb02 really just implements Mempfis's suggestion regarding the stairs. I haven't posted an update for "Nebula Shrine" yet, because I am going to pretty much redo the whole thing. Of course, please let me know what you think! I should probably sleep now.

Edit: Wow, I shouldn't do this late at night anymore. I had forgotten to actually link to the updated versions of the maps, and the formatting was all messed up too. Should be fixed now.

FDA for the vanilla / Cassette B version. The mention of a Stewboy track tempted me to pick version A, but since this is the one that'll go in the finished WAD I stuck with vanilla. Well, that, and I admit I'm curious to see what kinds of odd ways you come up with to use more of the 'black sheep' DooM II textures.

Anyway, it does alright, kind of like a little puzzle-box, Maybe a mite too switch-crazy for its small size for my taste, but the heavily 'articulated' style was of course definitely a trope in a certain stream of 90s PWADs, so I guess it fits the theme. Nothing broken this time, although I see a hideous misalignment near the yellow key construct, and I'm able to get the stuff out of the blue armor secret without actually entering the sector via a grab (and then I unintentionally trigger the sector later trying to see if I can break the map by jumping outside of it). There's something that just seems wrong about the midtex border on the left side of the lift into the yellow key area--it looks like you should be able to go there, but of course you can't.

Favorite things were the exit fight (sneaky arch-vile!) and the Wolfenstein tree-islands, just because.

Thanks for the demo DotW! Yeah this version of the map is a bit more switch crazy around the arachnotrons than the Secret Santa version of the map. I'm glad you pointed out those oversights, I don't know how I missed those blunt skull switch misalignments, and I see what you mean about the lift =/. I originally was going to have it so that you could enter that area from the lift, but for some reason I opted to use that area for the arachnotron fight, so I thought it would break the map if I didn't block the line and put some sort of mid-tex there to let the player know. I did think of a way to rectify that area though, so this and the fixes above will be in the next version of the map.

Been a while since I've been able to update this, but here's an update! In trying to take into account the feedback I got for the first nebula 95 map, I decided it would be best to mostly remake it, so please try out nebula shrine again! It is now more difficult, complex, and more interesting overall I think (oh, and not symmetrical =P).

Secondly, I added in a bunch of new graphics, and a short introductory map to each entry in the series that serves as a sort of preview through the windows of your trusty stolen spacecraft: Margie! Besides being a level with a hinted secret armor accessible in a different way for each entry in the series, she'll also serve as your new M_SKULL graphic:

/idgames links up! I also decided I will have a running thread-only compiled version of the wad that I update with each new map as well, for those who don't feel like downloading each map individually. If you want to see the correct skies rendered in the compiled version though, you will have to play it with a port that either supports an eternity or zdoom mapinfo lump.